2008 Woodie Awards
Professor Barnett's final lecture addresses intellectual independence
Kara Becker
Issue date: 2/9/07 Section: News
History professor Suzanne Wilson Barnett gave her much anticipated Last Lecture on Feb. 7 at 5 p.m. This was the last scheduled lecture in the series that the senior honor society Mortar Board puts on each year.
The professors invited to speak are voted on by members of the society at the beginning of the year, with the only criteria for the speeches being to write them as if they were their last. This gives the speakers creative freedom to deliver meaningful speeches on whatever interests them, usually from the perspective of their specific discipline.
President of Mortar Board Alex Nielsen was especially excited about Barnett's contribution.
"We are thrilled to have Professor Barnett speak for our series this Spring," Nielsen said. "She has given many years to the University and we wanted to honor her and all she has given to the community before her retirement at the end of this semester."
Barnett was voted on by members not only because she is a popular professor among the student body but also because this is her final year at UPS. Barnett came to UPS in 1973 and has since specialized in history courses on China and Japan, as well as become an active advocate for the Asian studies department.
In her lecture titled "Simon Says: The Tricky Problem of Students' Intellectual Autonomy," Barnett's main concern was with the increasingly opposing expectations that attending a demanding liberal arts college and cultivating intellectual autonomy bring.
The inherent problem, Barnett explained, was that the entire culture of UPS and of liberal arts colleges as a whole fosters an environment in which students are encouraged and expected to build relationships with their professors and lean on them for academic support.
While this is one of the main draws of a smaller private college, Barnett also feels that it at the same time holds students back from developing their own intellectual independence.
She cited examples such as spelling out things for students, using study guides and assigning work with little creative freedom, arguing that such measures limit students from becoming the intellectually curious, skeptical and insightful people UPS hopes to cultivate.
The professors invited to speak are voted on by members of the society at the beginning of the year, with the only criteria for the speeches being to write them as if they were their last. This gives the speakers creative freedom to deliver meaningful speeches on whatever interests them, usually from the perspective of their specific discipline.
President of Mortar Board Alex Nielsen was especially excited about Barnett's contribution.
"We are thrilled to have Professor Barnett speak for our series this Spring," Nielsen said. "She has given many years to the University and we wanted to honor her and all she has given to the community before her retirement at the end of this semester."
Barnett was voted on by members not only because she is a popular professor among the student body but also because this is her final year at UPS. Barnett came to UPS in 1973 and has since specialized in history courses on China and Japan, as well as become an active advocate for the Asian studies department.
In her lecture titled "Simon Says: The Tricky Problem of Students' Intellectual Autonomy," Barnett's main concern was with the increasingly opposing expectations that attending a demanding liberal arts college and cultivating intellectual autonomy bring.
The inherent problem, Barnett explained, was that the entire culture of UPS and of liberal arts colleges as a whole fosters an environment in which students are encouraged and expected to build relationships with their professors and lean on them for academic support.
While this is one of the main draws of a smaller private college, Barnett also feels that it at the same time holds students back from developing their own intellectual independence.
She cited examples such as spelling out things for students, using study guides and assigning work with little creative freedom, arguing that such measures limit students from becoming the intellectually curious, skeptical and insightful people UPS hopes to cultivate.
Be the first to comment on this story